The blurb for Coming to Find You makes no mention of a second timeline focusing on WWII. I’d probably have passed on this arc had I known about it. Synopsis After a sensational trial which sent her stepbrother to prison for a double murder, Nancy flees to the Cornish countryside to escape the prying eyes of the public and media. The second timeline occurs at the start of WWII and has the same setting. Review of Coming to Find You The writing style of this book didn’t work for me. The writing was very plain, with little introspection or description. The antagonist was a caricature of a bad guy ..read more

Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine is as creepy as the cover suggests. Synopsis Anna and her husband, Dex, have been trying to get pregnant for some time now. Between managing IVF treatment and her acting career, it’s a lot to keep track of. Lately, she’s been late for appointments and misplacing crucial medicines, even though she’s usually so meticulous. She begins to suspect someone is trying to interfere with her treatments. When Anna finally gets pregnant, these interferences escalate but no one, including her husband, believes her. Still, they retreat to the Hamptons, only for thing ..read more

The Last One by Will Dean requires oodles of suspension of disbelief but remains a compelling thriller. Synopsis Caz and her relatively new boyfriend, Pete, board the exclusive RMS Atlantica ocean liner, excited for their journey to NYC. They spend their first evening enjoying the ship and listening to safety drills. The next morning, Caz wakes up to no sign of Pete and soon realizes she may be the only one on the ship. The other cabins are open and empty, with practically no indication that anyone was ever there. What happened, and where the heck did everyone go? Review of The Last One by Wil ..read more

Strange Sally Diamond has similar vibes to Eleanor Oliphant and The Maid but is much darker. Synopsis The book opens with Sally Diamond and her adoptive father laughing about putting him out with the trash when he dies. Sally thinks the joke is that her father says she’ll be crying her eyes out, but she never cries, so har har. When he dies, Sally, dry-eyed, takes his body out to the barn and puts him in the incinerator, as they do with all the garbage. She doesn’t understand what she did wrong. She was only following her father’s directions. Soon Sally is in the spotlight, and revelation afte ..read more

Zero Days by Ruth Ware is a middle-of-the-road thriller, but it won’t be a memorable read for me. Synopsis Jack and her husband Gabe test company security systems by breaking into them. Jack handles the physical breaking-in while Gabe hacks the digital end. After completing a job, Jack heads home to find Gabe brutally murdered. In no time at all, Jack becomes a person of interest. But Jack is innocent and decides to evade arrest. Review of Zero Days by Ruth Ware This thriller starts out a bit slow but eventually picks up the pace. It’s told entirely from Jack’s perspective. Initially, I wasn’t ..read more

Have You Seen Her follows a woman on the run from her past set against the backdrop of Yosemite National Park. Synopsis Cassie is running from her old life in New York City, equipped with a burner phone and a new job at Yosemite National Park. After ten years, she’s rejoining the Search and Rescue team. She becomes friendly with a group of seasonal workers and summer vacationers. But Cassie is not the only one running from her past. And the past will eventually catch up with them. Review of Have You Seen Her This atmospheric thriller has two timelines. It includes a mix of Cassie’s pov along w ..read more

The Long Way Back by Nicole Baart has a slow start but turns into one wild thriller. Synopsis When mother and daughter Charlie and Eva accidentally went viral, they decided to keep sharing their travel posts. After two years on the road, they’ve settled down in a Minnesota town while Eva finishes high school and applies to colleges. They both agree to spend one last summer travelling in their Airstream trailer before Eva begins her next chapter. Their plans fall apart when Charlie wakes up on their boat, and Eva is nowhere to be found. It doesn’t take long for everyone, including their followe ..read more

The Drowning Woman leans on the dramatic side but is still somewhat compelling despite its flaws. Synopsis Lee Gulliver is newly homeless and never could have predicted it. She owned a successful restaurant until Covid hit. Now, she’s working at a diner under the table while living in her car. One morning, she hears a woman sobbing near the ocean and saves her when she tries to drown herself. Initially, the woman Hazel is furious at being saved, but the two quickly become friends. Soon, Lee is drawn into the secrets of Hazel’s life and agrees to help her. Review of The Drowning Woman This thri ..read more

The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis is a twisty and suspenseful novel set in the French countryside of Provence. Synopsis Séraphine Demargelasse has invited her granddaughter Darcy and her three friends to her family chateau. Twenty years ago, the four women used to visit Séraphine regularly while they were studying abroad. Now, they’re all in their forties and dealing with various personal issues, but head to France to learn why Séraphine has summoned them. She has something to tell them, but after a night of partying, one of the girls finds Séraphine brutally murdered in her bed. Suddenly, the girl ..read more

The Only Survivors is an atmospheric thriller following a cast of characters dealing with survivors’ guilt. Synopsis Since a tragic accident on a school trip ten years ago, the nine remaining survivors made a pact to reconvene on the yearly anniversary. Cassidy Bent is one of the nine survivors, but she would like to move on, so she’s cut the others out of her life. That was her plan until she received an email about the yearly gathering with an obituary link to one of the survivors. When Cassidy arrives at the meeting house, the vibes are off, and a few feel like someone is watching them. Rev ..read more